The Borrowed Bride

Penelope Monroe The clock flashed 7:00 AM as I lazily brushed my teeth, already dreading the day ahead. Today, I had to meet him, the arrogant asshole who had made me wait over a month for a meeting that should have been important enough for him to prioritize. But no, to him, this was just another business transaction.The audacity of it made my blood boil.I finished brushing and glanced at the weighing scale in the corner of my room. I hated that thing. Especially now, knowing I had gained at least ten pounds after Christmas.And all because of plum cakes. Once I start eating them, there's no stopping me. It's like they possess me. But honestly, I don't discriminate, I love sweets, I love savoury. If food had a dating profile, I'd swipe right every time. It's the love of my life, and everything else is just background noise, which isn't a good thing as my metabolism is very slow.But none of that mattered right now. What mattered was the fact that I had to face Ethan Rutherford tod

Penelope Monroe I curled up on my couch, hugging Ethan's blazer tighter around me, my fingers gripping the expensive fabric like it was some kind of security blanket. The scent of him, rich cedar, a hint of leather, something warm and masculine: wrapped around me, filling my senses, making it impossible to focus on anything else. I took another sip of wine, exhaling heavily. What the hell am I doing? I should have taken this thing off the second I got home. I should have tossed it on the chair and forgotten about it. But instead, here I was wrapped up in him, inhaling him like some love-struck idiot. I groaned, rubbing my face. I am too old for this. I wasn't some teenager pining over my first crush. And yet, the way Ethan had touched me earlier, the way his hands had lingered, the way his eyes had darkened when my dress strap had snapped, I let out another frustrated groan. This was going to be a problem. My phone buzzed on the coffee table, snapping me out of my spiralling t